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Putin's military shakeup a prelude to modernization
Follows up this story.[Fired military chief of staff]General Kvashnin will be replaced with his first deputy, General Yury Baluyevsky, who is generally seen as pro-Western and reform-minded. Experts said it has been clear for weeks that drastic changes in the top brass were on the way. "After what happened in Ingushetia, a shakeup was inevitable," said an independent defense analyst, Pavel Felgenhauer. "That was a huge blunder." But analysts also said that the shakeup and Mr. Kvashnin's firing in particular were a result of a power struggle over the future of the military. Mr. Putin has made a top priority of reforming Russia's increasingly ineffective military, which is beset by funding problems, aging equipment, and frequent desertions. The president has promised to streamline the military by cutting staff and turning the 1.3 million-strong force made up mostly of unwilling conscripts into a professional one. I guess Rummy's unavailable for this one. General Kvashnin, who first gained prominence as the leader of the failed war to seize control of Chechnya in 1994-96, was known to be among those most opposed to reform plans. "[General Kvashnin] is one of those most responsible for the military's miserable state," Mr. Felgenhauer said. His replacement, General Baluyevsky, is well-regarded as a proponent of change and international cooperation. General Baluyevsky has helped negotiate an arms reduction treaty with America and also set up the joint NATO-Russia Council. Compare Iraq to Chechnya. Yeah, it's reform time. Posted by: someone 2004-07-20 |
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